David Bahn – Reflections

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

Acts 4:1-12

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, ² greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

⁵ On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, ⁶ with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷ And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” ⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹ if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, ¹⁰ let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. ¹¹ This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. ¹² And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

I’ve graduated! I’m no longer binging only on watching YouTube videos of off-road recoveries, watch repairs, or airplane finds. Good as those might be, I can sample one or two (fast-forwarding through the uninteresting parts) and go on to better things. Now I am watching a TV series about lawyers in a high dollar New York law firm. The “heroes” somehow manage to seize on a word of their opponent, a comment of a colleague or their own inspiration as just the right time. Then they unload. They cut to the core of their legal opponent’s arguments and manage to win the case. The right word, revealing truth, a chink in their opponent’s defence, or claiming the high (?) moral ground wins the day.

Peter is no lawyer. That would be more like the Apostle Paul. But Peter surely knows what to say and when to say it. Bold. Courageous. Clear. Powerful. True. Peter’s words on this occasion are all of those. They are also not because of a comment of a colleague, a misstatement of the chief priest or his entourage, or his own inspiration. Peter’s words come from the Holy Spirit. Luke makes that crystal clear: “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people…” 

When I first learned more fully of the work of the Holy Spirit, I was struck by the completeness of God’s grace. Not only did he give his own Son for the salvation of the world, he also sent the Holy Spirit so that we would be brought to faith. We cannot believe in Jesus or come to him except for the work of the Holy Spirit. He calls us to faith, and engenders the very faith to which he calls us.

But, as they say on the TV Infomercials, Wait! There’s more! The Holy Spirit also sends people on God’s mission. Jesus said that the Apostles should wait in the city until the Holy Spirit comes upon them. He promised that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem (where they are at this point in time), and ultimately to the ends of the earth. Peter is speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Word of the Lord will grow – by the power of the Holy Spirit – and the number of believers will come to 5000 men. But, wait, there’s more! The Holy Spirit will compel the believers in Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas on missionary journeys to declare the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit was at work in those days through Peter and Paul, Barnabas and John Mark. But he’s not finished. He has worked to bring you and me to faith through the faithful witness of those who have shared the word of God with us. They shared just the right words with us. Words about Jesus. Words about God’s love and grace. Words that inspired faith. I hope to keep speaking those kinds of words whenever I can – all by the power of the Holy Spirit.